If you are in the UK, don’t forget that Sci-Fi London kicks off tomorrow.
I am having a serious chuckle to myself over this one. It seems the folks at AOTS have gathered up a bunch of start wars fans and are running a charity car wash this Saturday in LA. So for $10 you can have your car washed by a hoard of Stormtroopers or a fleet of Slave Leia’s, with the proceeds going to the Make a Wish Foundation. Too bad I can’t drive there by tomorrow.
One of my favorite film fests is coming around again: Sci-Fi London takes place from April 28th until May 3rd. Being held in the UK, there will of course be the obligatory Doctor Who screening, in this case the 1966 feature film staring Peter Cushing as the Doctor, as well as a Lab event called The Birth of the Modern Doctor Who. One of the most notable films at the event is Radio Free Albemuth, yet another Philip K. Dick tale turned into a disturbing movie (don’t you hate it when a film forces you to think?) about current events. Another film about a future that is already here is the intriguing 8th Wonderland, about a virtual country populated in the real world through social networking. Then there is TiMER, a nice Sci-Fi romantic comedy, and Dones (think The Office with drones from other planets), both of which have a solid link to the Buffyverse and a good grasp of humor. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg; there are a lot of movies worth seeing at this event.
The Hong Kong Independent Short Film & Video Awards runs from the 12th to the 21st of March.
This time around I would like to invite anyone who can get there to visit the new exhibit at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Actually, this museum has a lot of great exhibits and is really worth some time, but I am thinking specifically of the Science of Aliens presentation. Strangely enough, I could not find the actual exhibit dates (start and finish) on their web site; hopefully they will correct that soon. Also, this museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution Affiliations Program, so be sure to bring your membership card for the usual discounts and improved access.
This week, I thought I would mention a few Science Fiction Museum Exhibits that look like fun. Like Festivals, Museum Exhibits have a limited life span (usually 3 to 9 months) before they are off to another location. Another similarity is the difficulty of finding the things on display (be they films or objects) outside of those venues, at least for a time. Should I call it Rare Ephemeral Things To Do… nope, too cumbersome, and only true sometimes, I am sure.
There are a ton of things I could point to about the various Air and Space Museum locations, like the POP Observatory or the fact that you can still see the IMAX versions of Star Trek 11 or A Night At The Museum in the theaters on the Mall and at Dulles. But what I would like to mention is the ray gun exhibit out by the airport; it is amazing. It is in the room just behind the hall where the original space suit developed by balloonist Jean Piccard (name stolen for the TNG captain) is on display.
If you are in D.C. for that, you will also want to stop by the National Geographic Terracotta Warriors exhibit, where you can meet up close and personal some of the 2,000 year old statues that have guarded the Emperor (and were more recently seen in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
Another Museum Exhibit to be aware of is the Maidens and Monsters presentation, running now through April 18th, 2010, at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens in Winter Park, Florida. While the Polasec Museum has a lot going on, this display is something special, with original artwork by N.C. Wyeth, J. Allen St. John, Frank Frazetta, Virgil Finley, Hannes Bok, and many others. These paintings, posters, pastels, and other formats became some of the best known covers of Sci-Fi pulp magazines from the 20s to the 90s; get a glimps here of the wonders in this exhibit. Oh, and did I mention that while you are there you can also play a Theremin?
Touring for a few years now, Out of this World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television, organized by the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, runs from the 6th of February until the 16th of May, 2010, at the Orange County History Center in California. With outfits from the Wizard of Oz, Indiana Jones, Star Trek, and Star Wars, this is a display no Cosplayer can afford to miss!